News reaches me of a strange ruse at one national newspaper in an effort to wash its hands at the first sign of trouble for any of its hacks.
It appears that certain “staffers” are not employed by the paper at all, but by an arm’s-length company which is in turn paid by the newspaper.
The cunning stunt allows execs to honestly declare that none of “their journalists” are engaging in anything which could be construed as remotely iffy.
But not everyone at the paper is so convinced. “It could all backfire horribly if someone gets into trouble with the law,” predicts my spy.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog